Mr Berlusconi, who is due to return to Rome from his home in northern Italy on Tuesday, won control of both the senate and lower house of parliament.

The decisive victory gives him a third term as prime minister. After being congratulated by defeated rival Walter Veltroni, the media mogul said he would work with the opposition to pass much-needed economic reforms.

Mr Berlusconi said his immediate priorities would be settling the future of the loss-making national airline Alitalia and the crisis caused by uncollected mountains of rubbish in Naples.

The garbage collection remains an issue. The Prime Minister should establish a temporary residence in Naples and figure out how to solve the matter before the temperatures rise. Rodents can be hard to move along if they have a feast on hand.

About a third of Italian MPs are refusing to take part in a new electronic fingerprint voting system.

They are now being offered coffee breaks to try to persuade them to use the system, which is due to be introduced next week.

The scheme is meant to stop MPs voting for absent colleagues by reaching over and pressing their voting buttons. But some MPs are refusing to be fingerprinted, saying it will mean spending too much time in the chamber.

The aim is to make sure the casting of votes is more transparent. But about a third of the deputies in the 630-member lower house are objecting.

Some argue it is an invasion of privacy; others may be more shy because the police already have their prints, having been convicted of crimes ranging from corruption to biting a policeman's ankle.

Since some workplaces use electronic swipe cards, the politicians' ID cards could be used to vote or log in and out of the chamber. It does not make sense to have other politicians vote for an absent colleague who is out of the room for a bathroom break or meeting. The constituents whose politician is absent during votes would have a reason to replace him or her if the individual was often missing and not representing their interests on votes.

The chamber needs to keep in mind how mindnumbing sitting for hours in a chair is. The need for breaks is obvious.

That country, along with Greece, is having difficulty meeting all the EU immigration requirements because the sea brings illegal immigrants, they get processed and put into a cramped, overcrowded camp while they await their official outcome. Locals are getting familiar with newcomers taking cafe seats while they wait for someone to help them to the camp or get them processed.

Italy and Libya are going to use their marine vessels to patrol the water for boats carrying potential immigrants-those boats will be made to return to port in Libya and its passengers have to get identified by origin

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is to go back on trial in November, accused of tax fraud. It follows a recent decision by Italy's highest court to lift his immunity from prosecution while serving in office. He is to stand trial on 16 November - much earlier than expected - on charges linked to the purchase of TV and film rights by his family company, Mediaset. Mr Berlusconi denies the charges. He also faces another trial, yet to be set, for bribing a British tax lawyer.

David Mills fails to overturn Berlusconi bribe convictionRichard Owen, Rome The chances of David Mills going to prison increased today as an appeal court in Milan upheld the British tax lawyer's conviction for accepting a $600,000 (£366,000) bribe from Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian Prime Minister.

The estranged husband of Tessa Jowell, the Olympics Minister, was given a four and a half-year sentence in March. His appeal will now go before the Court of Cassation, the Supreme Court. It must issue a definitive conviction by early next year if the case is not to run out of time under Italy's statute of limitations.

Mr Mills said: "My faith in the Italian justice system is becoming a trifle strained. But I am sure that when the case gets to the Supreme Court in Rome in the New Year the Court, which guards Italy's legal reputation, will deliver a fair verdict."

No early elections, premier saysBerlusconi dismisses rumours, government has solid majority19 November, 12:45

(ANSA) - Rome, November 18 - Premier Silvio Berlusconi on Wednesday dismissed talk of early elections because of rifts in his centre-right coalition.

"I'm amazed over all these rumours which are spreading making it seem that we are heading towards early elections. I've never given it a thought," said the premier in a statement released by his office.